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Published in the Dec. 27, 2018, edition of the Lyons Recorder. A shorter column was published in the Dec. 19, 2018 edition of the Redstone Review.

COMMENTARY: What’s the future of affordable housing in Lyons?

The year in review: affordable housing

by Amy Reinholds

2018 started with an orientation for interested applicants for Habitat for Humanity and foundations poured for two of the duplex foundations at 112 Park Street. The year also began with the Lyons Board of Trustees authorizing a purchase and sale agreement that gave the Town of Lyons an option to buy Tract A of Lyons Valley Park Filing 8 with the intention of working with public and private sectors to replace some of the housing lost in the 2013 flood.

Now the year is ending with homeowners for all six Habitat for Humanity homes selected. Generous volunteers have donated funds to Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley and invested time constructing the homes alongside future homeowners, who will be purchasing their homes on Park Street later in 2019 after the three duplex buildings are finished. And Summit Housing Group is now under contract with Keith Bell of Lyons Valley Park, Inc., to purchase not only Tract A of the Lyons Valley Park subdivision with the intention to build 29 homes in duplex and triplex buildings, but also 11 homes on single family home lots already platted. All proposed 40 homes would be affordable rentals. Summit is submitting applications for funding for both the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) program and $4 million in federal Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery funds, and expects to find out about funding in February of the new year.

Both the Habitat for Humanity for-purchase homes, and the proposed rentals from Summit Housing Group are for permanently affordable housing, which means homes that are lower than market rate, set at costs that are set to be affordable for specific income levels. Also, both of these affordable housing options are set aside for people who were displaced as a result of the flood disaster of September 2013.

For the Habitat for Humanity homes, mortgages are about $150,000 (depending on some custom options). Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley explained that monthly mortgage payments, including taxes and insurance, will range from about $650 to $850 for all the homeowners in Lyons, depending on income and household size. Homeowners income is at 60 percent of the area median income or lower.

For the rental homes that Summit Housing Group is proposing, the income levels of renters would be 60 percent of the area median income or less. Past discussions from Summit representatives have described income levels in the 40 percent of the area median income, about $36,000 for a single person, or more for a larger household size and up to a five-person household with a $70,000 annual income for 60 percent of the area median income. The area median income changes every year. You can download 2018 Colorado County Income and Rent Tables at www.leaflyons.org/resources.html. Examples of rents that Summit representatives have given at past meetings for two-bedroom apartments are $906 a month for a 40 percent AMI household, and $1,200 a month for a 60 percent AMI household, depending on family size. The property management site for Summit buildings, www.leasehighland.com, shows what the applications are like for other rentals built by Summit in six states, including homes in Longmont.

In the previous two years, the Lyons Board of Trustees has been trying to find land for affordable housing, to not lose $4 million in federal funds set aside for Lyons. Other federal funds were lost in 2015 when a proposal for using part of Bohn Park to build subsidized, affordable Boulder County Housing Authority rentals and some Habitat for Humanity for-sale affordable homes (a total of 50-70 units) was rejected in a town vote: 498 Lyons voters supported it, and 614 Lyons voters opposed it. Lyons lost about 76-94 flood-destroyed homes, including Town of Lyons water taps/customer accounts and the number of flood-damaged homes in the Town of Lyons lost to both the federal buyout programs and to the changed use of the Riverbend Mobile Home Park property to an event and lodging venue (rezoned for commercial use).

So in reviewing 2018, I’m pleased to say that strides for affordable housing were made, although more work is still ahead. The Habitat for Humanity homes are getting closer to completion each day that volunteers work, and the future homeowners are getting closer to their purchase dates. The proposal from Summit Housing group could give the Lyons community a choice for rental homes that won’t go up with the rental market, although the financing and purchase of the land won’t be finalized until a few months into 2019.

Earlier in the year, some other parcels were pursued to build affordable rental homes, but none got as far along in the process as Summit’s proposal for Lyons Valley Park. A proposal from the Greens group, which included innovative food farming and Thistle Community Housing rental homes on town owned land east of Hwy 66 and U.S. 36, did not get through the planning stages in time for the $4 million in federal disaster funds for housing to be used. However, I don’t know if that partnership will pursue purchasing land and building in the future, with other funding. And nothing came of discussions by the Town of Lyons or affordable housing developers to purchase 19617 N. St. Vrain Drive, next to the Baseline-Mocon industrial parcel and near the Eagle Canyon subdivision.

Here’s a summary of some of the other changes in the past year related to affordable housing:

Inspired by passages in the Book of Micah about overcoming injustice and defending the rights of the poor, the United Church of Christ Longmont donated about a quarter of an acre to the Inn Between nonprofit, which is building six supportive rental homes for people on very low fixed incomes. The project broke ground in 2018. Could this model work in the Lyons community if local churches have land available? See Church donates land for affordable apartments in Longmont.

This year also saw a non-profit in Larimer County take a new approach to homesharing. In the first six months of its new HomeShare program, the Larimer County nonprofit Neighbor to Neighbor has matched five pairs of homeowners aged 55 and older (called “HomeProviders”) and renters (called “HomeSeekers”) who are looking for an affordable housemate situation.

The HomeShare program grew out of a discussion about the need for low-cost rentals in Larimer County, and the preferences for baby boomers and older homeowners to age in place. It is based on the simple idea of two or more people sharing a home for mutual benefit. A person offers a private bedroom and shared common space in exchange for low-cost rent, help around the home, or a combination of the two. Neighbor to Neighbor facilitates the HomeShare program by providing a housing counselor to help match homeowners and tenants and to help create a lease and living agreement for both parties. The average monthly rent is about $600. Some monthly rents are as low as $300 and some as high as $750, and some include discounts for housemates who agree to completing regular tasks and chores such as walking dogs or preparing meals.

If we in Boulder County could find a non-profit to administer a similar program, we could have ways to help both older people concerned about living alone, and people of all ages who need lower-cost rents.

In 2018, I didn’t see evidence that renters who struggle to find a place to live in the Town of Lyons that they can afford have it any easier than before. However, I am grateful that in the past year the Town of Lyons began enforcing the Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) ordinance, which prohibits homeowners who have mother-in-law apartments or carriage houses on their single family home residential lots from renting short-term vacation rentals on sites like AirBnb. The break in about $20,000-$40,000 in construction costs that homeowners receive because ADUs can share utility connection fees with the main house was intended to increase the supply of smaller rentals in the town of Lyons for people who work here. Rents are still market rate, but expected to be lower cost. So I’m glad to see our town enforce this ordinance. I like seeing employees of local businesses living in our residential neighborhoods as renters who are part of our community. It is important to note that in the past year, the town ordinances also changed so that short-term vacation rentals are now allowed for the first time, but only as guests in the homes where homeowners live (such as renting out a room or a suite within your house), if the homeowner gets a short-term vacation rental license. You can get more information at www.townoflyons.com/566/Accessory-Dwelling-Units and www.townoflyons.com/592/Short-Term-Rentals.

I don’t support changing the current ADU ordinance to allow homeowners to bring in tiny homes on wheels (registered as RVs) as ADUs. I don’t see evidence that adding tiny homes on wheels as ADUs would help homeowners save money, and therefore encourage more ADUs as rentals in town for people who are seeking affordable places to live. Currently, a homeowner can build a small building on site or can bring in a modular home constructed off-site for an ADU, as long as it fits in the size requirements (dependent on size of the main house, but no larger than 800 square feet). Modular homes, which arrive to the site in pieces and are constructed on residential lots, meet the International Residential Code (IRC) requirements that building inspection companies use. The cost of purchasing and bringing in a tiny homes on wheels RV to a backyard of an existing house, securing it, and connecting it to town utilities, has not been shown to cost less than the other ways of currently building ADUs. A public hearing on allowing the tiny homes on wheels RVs as ADUs is expected to be held on Jan. 7, 2019. Board of Trustees meetings are held at 7 p.m. at Lyons Town Hall. You can see everything I have written about ADUs here: lyonscoloradonews.wordpress.com/tag/adus.

Finally, I’m glad that there are several resources for tenants and landlords available in our community. The Lyons Library District hosted a community conversation at the library in September, where members of the community, including property managers, renters, and homeowners shared information and got resources from the town and community. Attendees expressed interest in more community conversations on the topic of renting in Lyons, which I hope continue in 2019. In the meantime, here are some useful community resources:

Here’s wishing everyone enjoyable end-of-the year holidays with family and friends. We’ve got a lot to look forward to in 2019, including building opportunities for everyone in our talented and caring community to thrive and find an affordable and safe place to live. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

COMMENTARY: What’s the future of affordable housing in Lyons?

Gratitude, grit, hope, and opportunities

by Amy Reinholds

At Monday’s five-year commemoration of the flood event with Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, several speakers honored the people of the Lyons community for resilience and finding opportunity despite the tragedy we experienced.

Hailey Odell, read a poem, “What If” that she wrote when she was in elementary school trying to make sense of the flood in September 2013. Her poem was part of a book “Through Our Eyes: Lyons elementary School Children Remember the September 2013 Flood.”

Odell’s poem included the lines “…what if this is more than just a disaster, what if this the greatest opportunity of my life, the opportunity to link arms with someone else, someone you never thought of before…”

Governor Hickenlooper recognized Lyons for “your sense of resilience and indomitable will” and U.S. Senator Michael Bennet said “your vision to find opportunity in tragedy” to build back stronger and better “speak to the best of Colorado.”

Hickenlooper talked about the “most destructive flood in the history of the state” with $4 billion in damages, 1,800 homes damaged, and 18,000 people displaced during the flood. He said that a former governor told him right after the flood, “For people who lost so much, you can’t build back the way it was before, you’ve got to build it better.” He expressed that we are doing that in Lyons. “Everything about this community is inspiring.”

Lyons Mayor Connie Sullivan referenced the “Lyons: We got grit” bumper stickers and listed many ways that grit was represented, including “every elected official since the flood not giving up on replacing affordable housing that was lost in the flood.”

At the event Monday morning, Sept. 10, in Bohn Park, a total of nine speakers offered their memories and thanked all those who helped in Lyons recovery over the past five years. A tree was planted in Bohn Park in honor of Gerry Boland, who died in the flood.

Mindy Tallent, who owns the Stone Cup cafe with her husband, Sam Tallent, illustrated the continuing need for affordable housing with her words.

“All of our lives have changed,” she said. “The lack of affordable housing has changed the feel of this town.”

Tallent highlighted challenges as a business trying to find employees. As the housing market continues to rise, and there are fewer homes than there were before the flood, she said, “The demographic changes have made it nearly impossible to work at local businesses and afford to live here.”

“Life is different in Lyons,” Tallent said. “Many are still displaced and unable to return home.”

Yet she ended, “We are hopeful and grateful.”

By the time this column is published, the community will be coming together to commemorate the impromptu barbecue and picnic five years ago outside the Stone Cup cafe. After almost two days of immediate work as the community helped neighbors escape from the flood waters, and many neighbors temporarily moved in with friends up the hill or across town, the town utilities were shut off, and we knew we were going to have to leave town in the aftermath of the flood. People brought meat from freezers to grill outside our local neighborhood cafe on Sept. 13, 2013. Sam and Mindy Tallent hosted people bringing whatever food they had. There was plenty to share. Five years to the day, the community is holding a Flood Reflection and Community Picnic Sept. 13, 2018 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the newly rebuilt Bohn Park. Town officials will give updates on recovery progress, and all are invited to commemorate and share stories of the five-year journey.

If we follow the poem that Hailey Odell wrote as an elementary school student, we can continue our recovery with the greatest opportunity of our lives. We can link arms with people we might not have thought of before and create affordable housing to replace the flood-destroyed homes that were lost.

Lyons lost about 76 to 94 flood-destroyed homes. To get an accurate number of housing stock lost in the September 2013 flood, there are two ways to count. First, according to counts of Town of Lyons water taps/customer accounts, 94 customer accounts were lost after the flood (including the 32 homes in Riverbend Mobile Home Park that were originally part of one water tap). However, some of those customer accounts were on Apple Valley Road (not in town limits), and some lots in town have more than one water tap/customer account. A second way to count is the number of flood-damaged homes in the Town of Lyons lost to both the federal buyout programs and to the changed use of the Riverbend Mobile Home Park property to an event venue (rezoned for commercial use), which totals 76 lost residential units. Federal buyouts totaled 44 units – including all residential units in the Foothills Mobile Home Park – and there were also 32 families who lost homes in the Riverbend Mobile Home Park, which was rezoned as a commercial wedding and lodging venue after the flood.

In March 2015, a proposal for using part of Bohn Park to build subsidized, affordable Boulder County Housing Authority rentals and some Habitat for Humanity for-sale affordable homes (a total of 50-70 homes) was rejected in a town vote, 614 to 498.

Some other subsidized affordable rentals have been proposed in the past year, including on land that Summit Housing Group wants to purchase in the Lyons Valley Park subdivision. But so far, the only post-flood, permanently affordable housing actually in the construction phase is at 112 Park Street. Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley is building three duplexes (a total of six, for-sale homes) on six residential lots the non-profit purchased in late 2016 from Craig Ferguson of Planet Bluegrass and his LLC, south of the former Valley Bank building (which remains on a separate commercial lot). The Lyons Board of Trustees voted in 2015 to waive water and sewer connection fees that they have control over for Habitat for Humanity. The total of about $173,500 in savings helped Habitat for Humanity meet its permitting and fees budget for the Park Street homes, keeping mortgages down to about $150,000 for homeowners. Applicants to purchase all six of the homes were selected by April of this year. To volunteer or to donate to Habitat for Humanity construction costs in Lyons, go to www.stvrainhabitat.org.

I’ve collaborated with some people I didn’t know before the flood, and people I never knew I would work with, and our community is now building six homes out of the 76-94 that were lost. The Town of Lyons does have the chance to see maybe 30 or 40 more new affordable homes, if we are willing to link arms and take an opportunity. I’m willing to be both hopeful and grateful like Mindy Tallent.

Amy Reinholds served on the Lyons Housing Recovery Task Force from December 2013 through its end in February 2015. She is currently a member of the Lyons Human Services and Aging Commission and served as a liaison to the Special Housing Committee during its existence from April 2015-April 2016. She has lived in Lyons since 2003 and in the surrounding Lyons area since 1995. For a history, you can read previous columns from both Lyons-area newspapers posted on her blog at lyonscoloradonews.wordpress.com. If you have any questions, comments, or complaints about this column, please contact her directly at areinholds @hotmail.com.

COMMENTARY: What’s the future of affordable housing in Lyons?)

Next week’s events remember where we’ve been and look to a possible future

by Amy Reinholds

Almost five years have passed since the waters of the North and South St. Vrain Rivers revealed their immense and destructive powers in unexpected ways, changing the Town of Lyons forever.

Events next week remember where we’ve been and what we have come through. On Monday, Sept. 10, from 10-11:30 a.m., Governor John Hickenlooper and state and local officials commemorate the five-year anniversary of the flood in Bohn Park. On Thursday, Sept. 13, the Town of Lyons encourages the Lyons community to come together in Bohn Park for a five-year Flood Reflection and Community Picnic from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Town officials will give updates on recovery progress, and all are invited to commemorate and share stories of the five-year journey.

In between those two commemoration events, a Tuesday, Sept. 11, community meeting from Summit Housing Group discusses possible new affordable housing – part of our town’s flood recovery that is not yet accomplished but could be in our future. Summit is planning to purchase land in Lyons Valley Park to build affordable rental homes and invites all in the community to learn more about proposals from 6-8 p.m. at Lyons Middle/Senior High School Cafetorium.

Then, some of us who volunteered on the Housing Recovery Task Force in 2013-2015 are rounding out the week of the five-year flood anniversary by volunteering at the Habitat for Humanity build site on Friday, Sept. 14. This is a way to give back, helping construct the small amount of new affordable housing that is a reality in Lyons: 6 homes in three duplexes at 112 Park Street. If you want to gather a group to volunteer on future dates, or to donate to the construction costs in Lyons, go to www.stvrainhabitat.org.

These events sum up the past five years with thoughts about what we’ve come through, possibilities for the future, and hard work in the here and now.

Most of the physical scars are gone now. Government funds have reconstructed parks and roads. Homeowners have rebuilt homes, sold them to other owners, or sold them as part of the federal buyout program. Renters and mobile home owners have moved several times since then, some finding new opportunities in other towns and other states, and some managing to rent in Lyons in a rising market while their children attend school here and they work or run businesses here. One mobile home park has become a wedding venue, where people spend money on celebrating new beginnings, maybe unaware of the people who once lived there or what the land looked like in the aftermath of the flood. Another mobile home park was part of the federal buyout program, and is gradually transforming to be part of the new green space surrounding a trail to our beautiful, popular town parks.

THE JOURNEY STARTS WITH 76-94 LOST HOMES

The Town of Lyons has weathered many challenges in the rebuilding and recovery process.

Lyons lost about 76 to 94 flood-destroyed homes. To get an accurate number of housing stock lost in the September 2013 flood, there are two ways to count. First, according to counts of Town of Lyons water taps/customer accounts, 94 customer accounts were lost after the flood (including the 32 homes in Riverbend Mobile Home Park that were originally part of one water tap). However, some of those customer accounts were on Apple Valley Road (not in town limits), and some lots in town have more than one water tap/customer account. A second way to count is the number of flood-damaged homes in the Town of Lyons lost to both the federal buyout programs and to the changed use of the Riverbend Mobile Home Park property to an event venue (rezoned for commercial use), which totals 76 lost residential units. Federal buyouts totaled 44 units – including all residential units in the Foothills Mobile Home Park – and there were also 32 families who lost homes in the Riverbend Mobile Home Park, which was rezoned as a commercial wedding and lodging venue after the flood.

Affordable housing hit a roadblock in the flood recovery journey in March 2015. A proposal for using part of Bohn Park to build subsidized, affordable Boulder County Housing Authority rentals and some Habitat for Humanity for-sale affordable homes (a total of 50-70 homes) was rejected in a town vote, 614 to 498.

SIX HABITAT FOR HUMANITY HOMES UNDER CONSTRUCTION

But Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley did not give up on the Town of Lyons and its need for housing that people displaced by the flood can afford. So far, the only post-flood, permanently affordable housing actually in the construction phase is at 112 Park Street. Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley is building three duplexes (a total of six, for-sale homes) on land the non-profit purchased from Craig Ferguson and his Planet Bluegrass partners at the end of 2016.

Applicants to purchase all six of the homes were selected by April of this year. Habitat for Humanity is hoping that many of the homeowners will be celebrating the new year in completed homes, but more volunteer labor and donations are needed. The preference policy gave first preference for applicants displaced as a result of the flood disaster of 2013, who maintained their primary residence in the Lyons area (80540 zip code) at the time of the flood. For income level requirements in Lyons, preference is for applicants at 60% of area median income or below (and possibly as much as 80% of the area median income was allowed for Lyons). A permanently affordable restriction means that homeowners who sell their homes in the future must sell to qualified buyers who are in that same income range.

Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit that acts as a builder and a lender of no-interest loans for homeowners. Mortgages are about $150,000 (depending on some custom options). The range of monthly mortgage payments including taxes and insurance will range from about $650 to $850 for all the homeowners in Lyons, depending on income and household size. All Habitat for Humanity homeowners complete about 250 volunteer hours per adult in each household, which includes attending financial and home-ownership classes, as well as working on construction of their own and their neighbors’ homes.

POSSIBLE AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOMES

Some subsidized affordable rental homes have been proposed in the past year, but no land has changed hands yet. Summit Housing Group is negotiating with Keith Bell of Lyons Valley Park Inc. to purchase Lyons Valley Park subdivision Tract A of Filing 8 for building 29 affordable rental homes in multifamily buildings like duplexes and triplexes – and possibly an additional 11 single family home lots. Summit is interested in building affordable single family homes on those 11 lots, Town Administrator Victoria Simonsen told the Lyons Board of Trustees in August. We’ll all find out more at Summit’s community meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 11 at Lyons Middle/Senior High School.

Summit, based in Missoula, Mt., is a development company that specializes in low-income tax credit and mixed-use developments. It develops and manages rental properties in six states, including Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado, all which include portions affordable to people who make 60 percent of the area median income or less. The federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) gives investors a reduction in their federal tax liability for every dollar they invest in financing to develop affordable rental housing. The investors’ equity contribution subsidizes the development, allowing housing units to rent at below-market rates.

This spring, Summit determined that the Lyons Valley Park subdivision agreement allows for multifamily density on 3.82 acres of Tract A of Filing 8, allowing about 27-29 homes (whether built by Summit or any future property owner), but not as many as the 43 that Summit had originally proposed. Lyons Valley Village, a co-housing community built in the early 2000s, is an example of multifamily density in the Lyons Valley Park subdivision.

At a May community meeting, input from several homeowners in the Lyons Valley Park neighborhood encouraged Sam Long, Summit senior project manager, to consider building only 29 homes instead of the 43 homes that Summit was originally planning for Tract A of Lyons Valley Park. But at the same meeting, the president of the Lyons Valley Park Homeowners Association said his attorney did not agree that any multifamily housing was allowed in the subdivision agreement and announced that the Homeowners Association was prepared to go to court.

Summit typically provides homes with rents available in four levels based on percentages of area median income (AMI), Summit president Rusty Snow explained at a Lyons Human Services and Aging Commission meeting in July. The rents are set for households with income at 30 percent or lower AMI, 40-31 percent AMI, 50-41 percent AMI, and 60-51 percent AMI. Snow gave examples of the broad range of incomes, from a one-person household with a $23,000 annual income up to a five-person household with a $70,000 annual income. Each of the four income levels have different rents, also based on family size. Examples of rents for two-bedroom apartments are $661 a month for a 30 percent AMI household, and $1,200 a month for a 60 percent AMI household.

Snow said that if Summit could acquire more land to build additional homes elsewhere in Lyons, financing could allow for more rents at the lower-income categories. He also confirmed that a preference policy like Habitat for Humanity uses would be in place for Summit rentals proposed for Lyons. People who were living in the 80540 area during the 2013 flood and were displaced from their homes have first priority.

Another option for possible affordable rentals that has been discussed in the past year is part of a proposal from the Greens partnership to purchase town-owned land on Hwy 66, east of Hwy 36 (adjacent to the new town public works building that is under construction). The proposal from the Greens partnership includes an innovative food agriculture business, a commercial kitchen, other business space, and affordable rental homes from Thistle Community Housing. The Greens partners include Donna Merten of Boulder-based real estate development firm Merten Development and Paul Tamburello, who has developed and consulted on several well-known projects around the Highland neighborhood of Denver and serves on the board of directors of GrowHaus, a nonprofit indoor farm and educational center in Denver’s Elyria-Swansea neighborhood. The Lyons Board of Trustees plans another meeting with the Greens partnership to follow up this fall.

What’s the future of affordable housing in Lyons? Decisions and actions in the next year could affect the rest of our journey. Since April 2015 I’ve been writing this weekly commentary (opinion column) in the Lyons Recorder about affordable housing after the flood. For a history, you can read previous columns from both Lyons-area newspapers posted on my blog at lyonscoloradonews.wordpress.com. If you have any questions, comments, or complaints about this column, please contact me directly at areinholds @hotmail.com. To help shape the future of Lyons, please get involved, share your story, and attend meetings.

COMMENTARY: What’s the future of affordable housing in Lyons?

The path ahead in our 5th year of recovery

by Amy Reinholds

This week is the 4th anniversary of the flooding that greatly affected our community and destroyed about 70 homes that were not rebuilt. To see some signs of continued recovery, I hope you were able to attend yesterday’s Habitat for Humanity ground blessing ceremony, the tours of Bohn Park, and the Town Hall meeting with flood recovery updates.

As we see the news media and social media now are filled with pictures and news of destructive hurricanes in Texas and Florida, it reminds me of what I wrote in my column last year at the 3rd anniversary of the Lyons flood: “Although it sounds gloomy, there is always going to be another natural disaster somewhere, whether the New Jersey coast, the Gulf Coast, Nepal, Oklahoma, Japan, Mexico, Texas, India, South Carolina, California, Louisiana, or somewhere else. I urge you to regularly donate to organizations you have seen help in Lyons, so they are ready to deploy wherever the next disaster hits.”

As the Town of Lyons goes through its 5th year of flood recovery, our community will see some of the six Habitat for Humanity homes built – and even volunteer to help build them. Keep reading my columns this fall for updates on volunteer build days. In addition, there are two other housing issues that the Town of Lyons staff and elected officials are focused on in the upcoming months:
1) a free-market issue: balancing the need for more rentals in town with existing homeowners’ interest in renting to vacationers, and
2) a subsidized, permanently affordable housing issue: not losing $4 million in federal flood recovery dollars set aside for building permanently affordable housing in town.

The first issue of balancing the need of more rentals in town with existing homeowners’ wants to rent their homes as short-term vacation rentals, is common in many communities. Unfortunately the reduction in the number of available homes in Lyons after the flood makes this issue more severe. If you own your home in the town limits of Lyons, you can help provide more lower-cost rentals in town by complying with the accessory dwelling unit (ADU) ordinance, which allows small apartments or carriage houses to share utility connection fees with the main house (saving homeowners $20,000-$40,000 in construction costs). You can read the ADU ordinance atwww.townoflyons.com/566/Accessory-Dwelling-Units. Homeowners of ADU properties must rent for periods of 30 days or longer (for example, at least a month-to-month lease), and cannot use their properties for short-term vacation rentals.

However, in August the Lyons Planning and Community Development Commission (PCDC) recommended a new, proposed short-term vacation rental ordinance that would allow some short-term vacation rental use by right in residential R-1 zones in the Town of Lyons, just not in ADUs. The Board of Trustees will hold a public hearing on the code changes for this new allowance on Monday, Sept. 18. (See the agenda atwww.townoflyons.com/AgendaCenter/Board-of-Trustees-3.) This is the balance that the PCDC was seeking, to allow homeowners in Lyons town limits to rent out rooms or suites as short-term vacation rentals in homes where they live, while minimizing impact on neighborhoods and keeping ADUs for long-term renters who work in town.

Our town has a responsibility to watch out for the people in our community who are most vulnerable, post-disaster. I want the town leaders to think about the implications of the vacation rental policy on renters who are seeking an affordable place to live long-term in Lyons. People who own homes in Lyons are more likely to attend town meetings and voice their opinions about their needs and interests. Our town should care about needs of renters, too, not just the needs of homeowners and vacationers.

For the second issue, the mayor and trustees have said at multiple meetings that they do not want to lose $4 million in federal flood recovery funds that is earmarked for housing in Lyons. That means they are encouraging mixed-use, affordable housing/commercial proposals for purchasing town-owned land at 4651 and 4652 Ute Hwy (for example, commercial buildings along the highway with residential behind or above). And, they are encouraging “land swaps” of manufacturing and light-industrial businesses moving to the Ute Hwy land, opening up locations in central areas of town for affordable housing. Town staff have been meeting with business landowners interested in hearing options for relocating to the land on the eastern edge of town.

This spring, the Town of Lyons purchased land from the City of Longmont to use a piece of it as a permanent home for the town’s flood-destroyed public works building and to sell remaining available parcels to buyers who want to pursue uses described in the recent Lyons Primary Planning Area Master Plan. On the northeast part of 4651 Ute Hwy, 2.15 acres will be the permanent home of the Lyons public works building. The remaining 4.3 acres on the north side of the road at 4651 Ute Hwy and the 3.28 acres on the south side of the road at 4652 Ute Hwy will be available for sale.

Town leaders have not mentioned yet what affordable housing partners the Town of Lyons might work with on the smaller affordable apartments in the central part of town or on the eastern corridor. Based on the size of the areas they are talking about, I expect proposals would be similar to the Walter Self Senior Housing apartments near the post office. Expect to hear staff reports from Town Administrator Victoria Simonsen at upcoming meetings with the mayor and trustees, maybe even as early as Monday, Sept. 18. Trustees have said that a plan must be in place by the end of September.

This column is a weekly commentary (opinion column) in the Lyons Recorder about affordable housing after the 2013 flood disaster in Lyons. If you have any questions, comments, or complaints about this column, please contact me directly at areinholds @ hotmail.com. For a history of post-flood efforts for affordable housing in Lyons, you can read previous columns from both Lyons-area newspapers posted on my blog atlyonscoloradonews.wordpress.com.

The Town of Lyons lost a total of about 70 flood-destroyed homes to both the federal buyout programs (including the 16 homes in the Foothills Mobile Home Park) and to the changed use of the Riverbend Mobile Home Park property to an event venue (rezoned for commercial use). In March 2015, a proposal for subsidized, affordable Boulder County Housing Authority rentals and some Habitat for Humanity for-sale affordable homes (a total of 50-70 units) on five to seven acres of Bohn Park was voted down 614 to 498 by Town of Lyons voters in a special election. At the end of 2016, Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley purchased six residential lots in Lyons to build three permanently affordable duplexes and broke ground by the 4-year anniversary of the flood.

Published in the August 17, 2017, edition of the Lyons Recorder. A shorter version of this content was published in the September 13, 2017, edition of the Redstone Review.

COMMENTARY: What’s the future of affordable housing in Lyons?

Top 3 things you can do this fall to support affordable housing

by Amy Reinholds

Like many of us who lived in Lyons during September 2013, I was encouraged by neighbors helping neighbors in the immediate days and weeks of the flood disaster. Then I was extremely discouraged in March 2015, when a proposal to set aside five to seven acres of Bohn Park for subsidized, affordable Boulder County Housing Authority rentals and some Habitat for Humanity for-sale affordable homes (a total of 50-70 units) was voted down 614 to 498 by Town of Lyons voters in a special election.

The Town of Lyons lost a total of about 76-94 flood-destroyed homes to both the federal buyout programs (including one buy out of a mobile home park) and to the changed use of a second mobile home park property to an event venue (rezoned for commercial use). I was a member of the Housing Recovery Task Force, a group of Lyons community members who volunteered their time from December 2013 to February 2015 to look for affordable housing options. After the vote failed that March, I encouraged some opponents of the first proposal and others interested in “other options” to volunteer their time on another group, and the Board of Trustees appointed the Lyons Special Housing Committee, which existed from April 2015-April 2016. I was appointed to the Lyons Human Services & Aging Commission, another volunteer commission, which continues to identify overall gaps in services for all segments of our population in the 80540 area.

Now, almost 4 years after the flood, newcomers to town sometimes ask how they can help with affordable housing. Members of the community often ask me the status of some past affordable housing efforts the Town of Lyons volunteer commissions, employees, and elected officials were pursuing. Do you want to help?

Here are three ways you can be part of the solution:

Welcome affordable rentals in your neighborhood.

Support Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley.

Rent to local employees and people who lost their homes in the flood instead of to short-term tourists.

1. Welcome affordable rentals in your neighborhood.

This spring, the Town of Lyons purchased land on the eastern corridor to use a piece of it as a permanent home for the town’s flood-destroyed public works building and to sell remaining available parcels to buyers who want to pursue uses described in the recent Lyons Primary Planning Area Master Plan. At the end of this week, a request for proposals (RFP) for prospective buyers is expected to be ready. The land has been considered as a possible area for affordable housing, and if light-industrial businesses move from central areas of town to this eastern corridor area, land in central parts of town could open up for affordable housing.

On the northeast part of 4651 Ute Hwy, 2.15 acres will be the permanent home of the Lyons public works building. The remaining 4.3 acres on the north side of the road at 4651 Ute Hwy and the 3.28 acres on the south side of the road at 4652 Ute Hwy will be available for sale.

Trustee Barney Dreistadt told the Planning and Community Development Commission (PCDC) on August 14 that the town does not want to lose $4 million that is earmarked for housing in Lyons by the Boulder County Collaborative, a group determining how federal funds are distributed locally. But that means that a plan must be in place by end of September of this year that describes how the $4 million can be spent in Lyons, and the plan cannot change.

Trustees support “land swaps” of light-industrial businesses moving to the Ute Hwy land, and opening up land in town for affordable housing. What can you do? If a light-industrial business in your neighborhood is interested in moving out east, and affordable housing is proposed in its place, be supportive. Welcome a new small apartment building like Walt Self senior housing by the post office that provides a rental option for friends and neighbors on fixed incomes, or working families who are part of the fabric of our community but can’t keep up with the skyrocketing rents in our town.

Nothing has been proposed yet, but if another affordable rental building is proposed in my neighborhood, I plan to say “Yes, in my back yard” to help my community.

And do you know a business that wants to swap a light-industrial parcel in town to move out east? Let light-industrial businesses know about this opportunity. Do you know an affordable housing organization that would be a good builder of a small group of apartments? Contact Lyons Town Hall, and let me know, too!

2. Support Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley.

Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley never gave up on the Town of Lyons, even after the proposal for affordable housing in Bohn Park was rejected by a majority of Town of Lyons voters, and after a long journey to purchase even a small parcel in Town of Lyons. You can support a permanently affordable home-ownership model for 6 households in Lyons by supporting the non-profit organization with your time and money. And you can be supportive for new homeowners by welcoming them to the neighborhood and volunteering on construction of their homes later this year.

Planning for a permanently affordable home-ownership model with 3 duplexes, in November 2016, Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley purchased six residential lots from Craig Ferguson of Planet Bluegrass and his LLC. The lots are on Park Street, east of 2nd Ave, south of the former Valley Bank building (which remains on a separate commercial lot). At the end of July, the construction plan for public improvements that Habitat for Humanity must complete was approved by the Town of Lyons engineering staff. The next steps for Habitat for Humanity include selecting a contractor to do the public improvement infrastructure work. The infrastructure work is expected to take about 3 to 4 months.

Habitat for Humanity also needs building permits, which have been previously committed by the Lyons Board of Trustees to cost no more than $15,000 per home (after an agreement to waive water and sewer connection fees that the town has control of). Some of the work required for the building permits was already completed as part of the construction plan for public improvements. After Habitat for Humanity has the building permits for the six homes, the foundations can be poured for all three duplexes. The foundation work can overlap with the public improvement work if needed, according to Executive Director David Emerson. Volunteers to work on construction of homes probably are not needed until later this fall, after at least the foundation for the first duplex is completed.

Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit that acts as a builder and a lender of no-interest loans for homeowners. For income level requirements in Lyons, preference is for applicants at 60% of area median income or below, but households that earn as much as 80% of the area median income can also be included.

Two rounds of applications for home ownership have been completed, and a total of three applications are moving forward so far. Habitat for Humanity, future homeowners, and volunteers will work on the first three homes first, and a third round to select applicants for the final two homes will be open in January, after the construction is underway. That way applicants won’t have a long wait between selection and home completion. It also gives applicants more time to prepare applications and related requirements for mortgages, such as reducing debt-to-income ratios and getting issues corrected on credit reports. The first preference category of 80540 residents displaced from their homes as a result of the 2013 flood still has priority in the third round.

3. Rent to local employees and people who lost their homes in the flood instead of to short-term tourists.

Does gentrification make you uneasy or irritated? Want to keep the “funky” artists and musicians in Lyons? If you are a homeowner in Lyons, you have the power to fight gentrification by how you decide to rent your available spaces.

If you own your home in the town limits of Lyons, you can help provide more lower-cost rentals in town by complying with the accessory dwelling unit (ADU) ordinance, which allows small apartments or carriage houses to share utility connection fees with the main house (saving homeowners $20,000-$40,000 in construction costs). You can read the ADU ordinance atwww.townoflyons.com/566/Accessory-Dwelling-Units. Homeowners of ADU properties must rent for periods of 30 days or longer (for example, at least a month-to-month lease), and cannot use their properties for short-term vacation rentals.

Even if you don’t have a complete apartment, but you have some extra space, consider renting to a housemate who works at a local business.

Right now, in town limits, short-term vacation rentals are not permitted by right on residential (R-1 and R-2) zoned land (neighborhoods where most of us live). It’s true that a new, proposed short-term vacation rental ordinance that the PCDC and town planning staff are working on would also allow some short-term vacation rental use by right in residential R-1 zones in the Town of Lyons. To give residential property owners a break, the PCDC looked into simplifying town policy to allow renting rooms or suites in a house in a residential zone where the owner lives, to only one party at a time, with limited number of people in that party.

Not all homeowners who have a spare bedroom and bathroom want to have a roommate year round, but they might want to occasionally rent out that space to vacationers. That doesn’t concern me as much as someone who has an entire space, suite, or apartment, who would otherwise rent it monthly to someone who works in town but suddenly sees a way to make more money renting the space to tourists. A study published last month titled The Sharing Economy and Housing Affordability: Evidence from Airbnb found that a 10% increase in Airbnb listings in a zip code leads to a 0.39% increase in rents and a 0.64% increase in house prices. Seehttp://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3006832.

In addition to the choices that individual homeowners make, real estate agents and property managers can help by linking new Lyons homeowners with tenants who really need a place to live so they can continue to serve you coffee, cocktails, or tacos in local businesses or teach your kids music lessons. We need more heroes in Lyons to take these actions, and I know our wonderful community is filled with champions who are capable of this work.

This column is a weekly commentary (opinion column) in the Lyons Recorder about affordable housing. If you have any questions, comments, or complaints about this column, please contact me directly at areinholds @ hotmail.com. For a history of post-flood efforts for affordable housing in Lyons, you can read previous columns from both Lyons-area newspapers posted on my blog atlyonscoloradonews.wordpress.com.

COMMENTARY: What’s the future of affordable housing in Lyons?

Habitat buys 6 residential lots at 2nd and Park

by Amy Reinholds

Even though actual building won’t start until spring, it’s an exciting time for Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley, for people who lost their homes in the 2013 flood and hope to return to Lyons as a Habitat homeowners, and for all of us who have been working to bring affordable housing to Lyons.

Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley closed Nov. 17 on the purchase of 6 residential lots from Craig Ferguson and his LLC partners.

“We’ve been waiting for this opportunity for a long time,” said John Lovell, director of development for Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley. “We’re excited to be involved again with the Lyons community and to be able to bring families home to Lyons in the next several years.”

Now that Habitat for Humanity owns the land, the organization can move forward with the application process for new homeowners of townhomes at 2nd and Park Streets. A January 7 orientation will be held for interested applicants who were living in the 80540 zip code during the flood and were displaced from their homes. Those who have already signed up with Habitat will be contacted with details about the meeting. There will also be an online orientation available Jan 3-10 for those who cannot attend in person. Interested applicants who are not already on Habitat’s list should contact Erin Minaya at eminaya@stvrainhabitat.org or 303-682-2485 x 104.

South of the former Valley Bank building (which remains on a separate commercial lot), there will be a row of 6 Habitat for Humanity townhomes. In July of this year, the Board of Trustees unanimously approved final rezoning and subdivision steps to allow 6 residential lots at 2nd and Park to be sold to Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley. The 6 lots for 3 duplexes were sold to Habitat for Humanity after the plat was recorded. Habitat for Humanity will complete the required subdivision improvements for the residential lots.

In June 2015, Craig Ferguson purchased the entire 0.76-acre parcel from Valley Bank. Later that month, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to waive water and sewer connection fees that they have control over for proposed Habitat for Humanity homes. The total of about $173,500 in savings will help Habitat for Humanity meet its permitting and fees budget, keeping mortgages down to about $150,000 for homeowners. Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit that acts as a builder and a lender of no-interest loans for homeowners.

The 6 residential lots will be permanently affordable, based on a covenants for resale, administered by Habitat for Humanity. First preference is for applicants who were living in the 80540 zip code during the flood and were displaced. (The group that will meet in an orientation January 7 should bring copies of FEMA letters.) Second and third preferences are for applicants from surrounding areas who were displaced by the 2013 flood, and current local residents, students, and employees of 80540 who weren’t displaced. Habitat for Humanity hopes that all 6 homes will be filled with people in the primary preference category and knows of three interested applicants who have been living out of state since they were displaced by the flood.

Applicants who meet the preference requirements must also qualify for the Habitat for Humanity program. Households must demonstrate a need for housing (examples include paying more than a third of your family income on rent, not qualifying for a traditional loan, or living somewhere that is not able to be maintained for health and safety), a willingness to partner with the Habitat for Humanity program (including volunteering hours to build their home and other homes), and ability to pay the mortgage and provide a down-payment (some assistance is available). Habitat homeowners get no-interest mortgages but agree to put in up to 500 hours of “sweat equity,” depending on family size, on both their own homes and other homes in the community.

There will also be volunteering and fundraising opportunities for the Lyons community. Watch for more information to come from Habitat for Humanity.

Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley also has worked on rebuilding for homeowners in Lyons with flood damaged homes. In October and early November, Habitat led volunteer crews three days a week on Mark Bray’s home in the confluence neighborhood. The foundation and home have been raised above the flood plain, and volunteers reconstructed the first floor of the home. For more information, see www.stvrainhabitat.org/flood-repair-volunteer-opportunities.

There are other opportunities to help Mark Bray, who is facing health issues and recovery after a hospital stay. Joycelyn Fankhouser and other Lyons community members have reached out to help to ease his transition from recovery and eventually back to his home in Lyons, where he hasn’t been able to live in the more than three years since the flood. Debra Hill, a caseworker with Boulder County Housing and Human Services, said that cards and letters during the Thanksgiving holiday would be most helpful and encouraging in the immediate timeframe.

“I believe it would be of great comfort and encouragement to know his community is rooting for him to get better and return home after three and a half years of being displaced,” Hill said.

You can reach Debra Hill at dhill@bouldercounty.org. Joycelyn Fankhouser will be collecting cards in Lyons both before and after Thanksgiving. You can contact her at fankfam@gmail.com.

When the new Habitat for Humanity townhomes are constructed, Lyons will have 6 more homes toward those lost in the September 2013 flood. The Town of Lyons lost a total of about 70 flood-destroyed homes to both the federal buyout programs (including one buy out of a mobile home park expected to close soon) and to the changed use of a second mobile home park property to an event venue (rezoned for commercial use). In March 2015, a proposal for subsidized, affordable Boulder County Housing Authority rentals and some Habitat for Humanity for-sale affordable homes (a total of 50-70 units) in 5-7 acres of Bohn Park was voted down 614 to 498 by Town of Lyons voters in a special election.

For a history of post-flood efforts for affordable housing in Lyons, you can read previous columns from both Lyons-area newspapers posted on my blog at https://lyonscoloradonews.wordpress.com. All town meetings of the elected Lyons Board of Trustees and appointed town boards and commissions are open to the public and are supposed to be posted on the town calendar at www.townoflyons.com/calendar.aspx. This column is a weekly commentary in the Lyons Recorder. If you have any questions, comments, or complaints about this column, please contact me directly at areinholds @hotmail.com.

COMMENTARY: What’s the fix for affordable housing in Lyons?

What I’ve learned in the three years since the flood

By Amy ReinholdsRedstone Review

LYONS – I started writing this “What’s the fix for affordable housing in Lyons?” column in early 2015, after a majority of Town of Lyons voters rejected a proposal for affordable housing in part of Bohn Park. For the three-year anniversary of the flooding that permanently changed our town, I’m thinking about what affordable housing initiatives our community has pursued since the flood, and what I have learned in the past three years. For everyone in the Lyons community, I wish you the best in rebuilding, focusing on your future, and reflecting on the past of our resilient community.

Here’s a summary of what I’ve learned in the past three years since the flood:

1.) Affordable housing takes a long time, and it’s not easy. But nothing happens at all if no one tries in the first place, or if no one perseveres.

3.) As part of human nature, people are naturally self-centered. And in our time-crunched society, people often prioritize attending town meetings or volunteering their time only for issues that affect them personally. But under certain circumstances, we do reach out beyond ourselves to help our neighbors, as we saw an overwhelming majority of our community and visitors do in the immediate aftermath of the flood.

4.) “Lead, follow, or get out of the way!” I saw this motto on a plaque at an event honoring LaVern Johnson, who has devoted decades to serving on Town of Lyons boards and commissions. Related to the previous point, there’s a natural tendency to proclaim that something needs to get done (like affordable housing), but it is someone else’s job. We naturally want to blame others when events don’t unfold the way we think they should. Instead, I prefer the approach that people who are passionate about initiatives should take the lead, and those who aren’t willing to devote the time and energy should accept the leaders who step forward. There’s always room for others debating the direction to sit at the table, but you have to be willing to devote at least equal time and energy – and be willing to actually sit in a chair at the same table with the leaders.

5.) Each person was affected uniquely in Lyons by the flood. We can be emotionally tied to our neighbors’ struggles, and we can join together in support groups for moving through common challenges. But we will never truly walk in our neighbors’ boots.

6.) Similarly, each person has a unique perspective on who to trust and distrust. What makes sense to me about the levels of trustworthiness of federal, state, county, and town government officials or staff, those with authority like professors or heads of religious organizations, or big or small corporations and business owners, isn’t the same as what other neighbors think.

7.) As a member of the Lyons Human Services and Aging Commission, I’ve learned that there is a significant financial need in Lyons. Increasing housing costs only make it more difficult for a family to stretch a budget. An estimated 25%-30% of Lyons-area residents rely on some form of assistance from external agencies to have their basic needs met, based on data from the Lyons Emergency Assistance Fund (LEAF), and the Colorado Center on Law and Policy. About 10%-15% of Lyons kids qualify for free/reduced school lunches (less than $44,000 annual income for a family of four), and it takes $75,906 for a family of four in our county to be “self-sufficient” (not require assistance from external agencies, such as social services, nonprofits, or churches).

8.) Finally, another human nature observation: We all want to feel good about doing something. Some of us crave affirmation, and some of us like to do good in secret, or we fall somewhere in between. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, my employer offered an opportunity to donate through our paychecks to specific relief funds that helped in New Orleans, and I continued donating through paychecks each year to organizations I learned about like the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and Habitat for Humanity. Then in 2013, I saw those organizations come to help Lyons, and I met more like Team Rubicon and Calvary Relief. Although it sounds gloomy, there is always going to be another natural disaster somewhere, whether the New Jersey coast, the Gulf Coast, Nepal, Oklahoma, Japan, Mexico, Texas, India, South Carolina, California, Louisiana, or somewhere else. I urge you to regularly donate to organizations you have seen help in Lyons, so they are ready to deploy wherever the next disaster hits.

Keep following my columns in both Lyons papers for news about accomplishments to increase affordable housing stock in Lyons after the 2013 floods. For history of post-flood efforts for affordable housing in Lyons, you can read previous columns posted on my blog at lyonscoloradonews.wordpress.com. All town meetings of the elected Lyons Board of Trustees and appointed, volunteer town boards and commissions are open to the public and posted on the town calendar at www.townoflyons.com/calendar.aspx. If you have any questions, comments, or complaints about this column, contact me directly at areinholds @hotmail.com.

Amy Reinholds served on the Lyons Housing Recovery Task Force from December 2013 through its end in February 2015. She is currently a member of the Lyons Human Services and Aging Commission and served as a liaison to the Special Housing Committee during its existence from April 2015-April 2016. She has lived in Lyons since 2003 and in the surrounding Lyons area since 1995.

COMMENTARY: What’s the future of affordable housing in Lyons?

Three years since the flood

by Amy Reinholds

I started writing this “What’s the future of affordable housing in Lyons?” column in early 2015, after a majority of Town of Lyons voters rejected a proposal for affordable housing in part of Bohn Park. For the three-year anniversary of the flooding that permanently changed our town, I’ve collected a summary of what affordable housing initiatives our community has pursued since the flood, and a summary of what I have learned in the past three years. For everyone in the Lyons community, I wish you the best in rebuilding, focusing on your future, and reflecting on the past of our resilient community.

Here’s the status of possible post-flood affordable housing initiatives that have been proposed in Lyons in the past three years since the flood:

Before the former Board of Trustees ended their term on April 18, 2016, they unanimously approved an Affordable Housing Resolution that specifies a goal of 10% affordable housing stock in Lyons with a list of possible housing policies and incentives that future boards can use to accomplish that goal. The current Board of Trustees directed the Planning and Community Development Commission (PCDC), the Utilities and Engineering Board, and Town Staff to determine proposals for implementing policies that encourage affordable housing.

On July 5, 2016, the Board of Trustees unanimously approved final rezoning and subdivision steps to allow 6 residential lots at 2nd and Park to be sold to Habitat for Humanity of the St Vrain Valley. The 6 lots for 3 duplexes can be sold to Habitat for Humanity after the plat is recorded, and the former bank building will remain on a commercial lot. Habitat for Humanity will complete the required subdivision improvements for the residential lots, planning to begin these improvements after closing on purchasing the lots from landowners Downtown Lyons Development, LLC. In June 2015, Craig Ferguson purchased the 0.76-acre parcel from Valley Bank, and the previous Board of Trustees voted unanimously to waive water and sewer connection fees that they have control over for the proposed Habitat for Humanity homes. The total of about $173,500 in savings will help Habitat for Humanity meet its permitting and fees budget, keeping mortgages down to about $150,000 for homeowners. Habitat for Humanity acts as a builder and a lender of no-interest loans for homeowners.

In recent months, the PCDC and Town Planning Staff, directed by the current Board of Trustees are focusing on accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and rental policies, a possible free-market approach to increase the number of initially lower-priced rentals for people who work in town. If you are a landlord or vacation rental host in Lyons town limits, or want to be one, make sure to attend the PCDC public hearing next Monday, Sept. 12, at 7-9 p.m. at Lyons Town Hall, where the public has a chance to comment and help shape policy for how ADUs can be built and used in single-family residential lots in Lyons town limits. For more details, see https://lyonscoloradonews.wordpress.com/2016/09/01/public-can-comment-about-adus-at-sept-12-planning-commission-meeting/.

A proposal for subsidized affordable housing rentals and some Habitat for Humanity for-sale affordable homes (a total of 50-70 units) in 5-7 acres of Bohn Park was voted down 614 to 498 in a March 24, 2015, special election mail ballot, an attempt at post-flood housing recovery after 14 months of work by the Lyons Housing Recovery Task force and hired planning consultants and the Lyons Housing Collaborative. The Boulder County Housing Authority (funded by our county tax dollars) continues to manage three other rental properties in Lyons that have long waiting lists: 8 apartments at Bloomfield Place, 12 apartments at Walter Self Senior Housing, and 6 apartments at Mountain Gate.

At the end of 2015, the Town of Lyons submitted a proposal to the National Disaster Resilience Competition, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that included affordable housing and a safe haven community center, and the Town entered into option-to-buy contract with the City of Longmont for the former Longmont water treatment land on the north and south sides of Hwy 66. Lyons received the disappointing news in January 2016 that the competition didn’t award any funds to the State of Colorado, but other funding might be found. In March and April of 2016, the Lyons community participated in the Eastern Corridor Primary Planning Area planning process, providing input on future land use in that area, whenever future landowners apply to annex to Lyons. Affordable housing, senior housing, small cottages, and mixed residential, business, and retail use were some of the land uses that the public strongly supported for the Eastern Corridor. In July 2016, trustees said results of a survey showed community support for affordable housing in the Eastern Corridor with 65% of respondents saying that affordable housing was “essential” or “very important.” They saw it as a positive endorsement of moving forward if the opportunity presented itself to have the Town of Lyons buy and annex a parcel in the Eastern Corridor. At the Sept. 6, 2016, Board of Trustees meeting, the trustees and Town Administrator Victoria Simonsen talked about options for possibly using parts of the northern parcel of the former water treatment plant as a site for the Lyons Public Works building, because FEMA has determined that the temporary location at the Vasquez stone yard does not meet requirements for a permanent location. Other options discussed were a possibility of Colorado Department of Transportation moving out to a part of the former water treatment plant site, maybe swapping land it currently owns near Eagle Canyon that could become residential.

Simonsen also told the Board of Trustees at the Sept. 6 meeting that in the last few weeks, two separate groups have come to her saying they would like to build permanently affordable housing in Lyons and leverage $4 million in federal disaster recovery funds that will be available. The groups are considering buying some privately owned parcels in the Eastern Corridor and elsewhere. The Board of Trustees directed her to meet with the groups to understand the proposals and bring updates to a future meeting.

Here’s a summary of what I’ve learned in the past three years since the flood:

Affordable housing takes a long time, and it’s not easy. But nothing happens at all if no one tries in the first place, or if no one perseveres.

We can’t rely on Facebook posts for factual information. Like accepting rumors heard on the street, believing Facebook posts at face value causes misinformation and strife.

As part of human nature, people are naturally self-centered. And in our time-crunched society, people often prioritize attending town meetings or volunteering their time only for issues that affect them personally. But under certain circumstances, we do reach out beyond ourselves to help our neighbors, as we saw an overwhelming majority of our community and visitors do in the immediate aftermath of the flood.

“Lead, follow, or get out of the way!” I saw this motto on a plaque at an event honoring LaVern Johnson, who has devoted decades to serving on Town of Lyons boards and commissions. Related to the previous point, there’s a natural tendency to proclaim that something needs to get done (like affordable housing), but it is someone else’s job. We naturally want to blame others when events don’t unfold the way we think they should. Instead, I prefer the approach that people who are passionate about initiatives should take the lead, and those who aren’t willing to devote the time and energy should accept the leaders who step forward. There’s always room for others debating the direction to sit at the table, but you have to be willing to devote at least equal time and energy – and be willing to actually sit in a chair at the same table with the leaders.

Each person was affected uniquely in Lyons by the flood. We can be emotionally tied to our neighbors’ struggles, and we can join together in support groups for moving through common challenges. But we will never truly walk in our neighbors’ boots.

Similarly, each person has a unique perspective on who to trust and distrust. What makes sense to me about the levels of trustworthiness of federal, state, county, and town government officials or staff, those with authority like professors or heads of religious organizations, or big or small corporations and business owners, isn’t the same as what other neighbors think.

As a member of the Lyons Human Services and Aging Commission, I’ve learned that there is a significant financial need in Lyons. Increasing housing costs only make it more difficult for a family to stretch a budget. An estimated 25% -30% of Lyons-area residents rely on some form of assistance from external agencies to have their basic needs met, based on data from the Lyons Emergency Assistance Fund (LEAF), and the Colorado Center on Law and Policy. About 10%-15% of Lyons kids qualify for free/reduced school lunches (less than $44,000 annual income for a family of four), and it takes $75,906 for a family of four in our county to be “self-sufficient” (not require assistance from external agencies, such as social services, nonprofits, or churches).

Finally, another human nature observation: We all want to feel good about doing something. Some of us crave affirmation, and some of us like to do good in secret, or we fall somewhere in between. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, my employer offered an opportunity to donate through our paychecks to specific relief funds that helped in New Orleans, and I continued donating through paychecks each year to organizations I learned about like the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and Habitat for Humanity. Then in 2013, I saw those organizations come to help Lyons, and I met more like Team Rubicon and Calvary Relief. Although it sounds gloomy, there is always going to be another natural disaster somewhere, whether the New Jersey coast, the Gulf Coast, Nepal, Oklahoma, Japan, Mexico, Texas, India, South Carolina, California, Louisiana, or somewhere else. I urge you to regularly donate to organizations you have seen help in Lyons, so they are ready to deploy wherever the next disaster hits.

For history of post-flood efforts for affordable housing in Lyons, you can read previous columns posted on my blog at https://lyonscoloradonews.wordpress.com. All town meetings of the elected Lyons Board of Trustees and appointed, volunteer town boards and commissions are open to the public and posted on the town calendar at www.townoflyons.com/calendar.aspx. If you have any questions, comments, or complaints about this column, please contact me directly at areinholds @hotmail.com.

Amy Reinholds served on the Lyons Housing Recovery Task Force from December 2013 through its end in February 2015. She is currently a member of the Lyons Human Services and Aging Commission and served as a liaison to the Special Housing Committee from 2015-2016. She has lived in Lyons since 2003 and in the surrounding Lyons area since 1995.

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So how did this What’s the future of affordable housing in Lyons? mission of mine get started? Why did I become stubbornly optimistic that new affordable housing could work in Lyons, Colo., our town of less than 2,000 people, still recovering after devastating flooding in September 2013?

You could say it all started when a majority of Town of Lyons voters in a March 2015 special election mail ballot voted down a proposal for 50-70 affordable housing units proposed for 5-7 acres in the Bohn Park. The vote was 614 against the proposal and 498 for the proposal. That’s when I gathered together people who said they had other ideas that would work better and encouraged them to get to work. That’s when I pledged to write a WTF column in every edition of the weekly Lyons Recorder and in the monthly Redstone Review until new affordable housing is created in Lyons. I’m still writing those columns.

Or, maybe it all started when I joined the Housing Recovery Task Force in the months following the flood, in December 2013. I embarked on a series of volunteering on town advisory boards and commissions, attending marathon meetings, learning about flood recovery, resilience, other communities’ disaster stories, relief organizations, and government agencies and regulations.

But just as natural disasters change everyone they touch in a community, the widespread floods of September 2013 in Colorado were the original instigator of my current calling as an advocate, reporter, fact-checker, and town crier for affordable housing.

Thanks for reading, for sharing your stories, for dedicating your time, and for daring to hope with me,

COMMENTARY: What’s the future of affordable housing in Lyons?

Outgoing trustees pass affordable housing resolution

by Amy Reinholds

Before the former board of trustees ended their term on April 18, they unanimously approved a resolution that specifies a goal of 10% affordable housing stock in Lyons with a list of possible housing policies and incentives that future boards can use to accomplish that goal.

Trustee Dawn Weller, who served as Board of Trustees liaison to the Lyons Special Housing Committee in the past year, made the motion to approve; and Trustee Dan Greenberg, who worked with the Lyons Housing Recovery Task Force the year after the flood, seconded the motion.

Section 1 of the resolution states “In order to promote the general health, safety, and welfare of the Town’s residents, it is in the Town’s best interest to set a goal for the number of housing units that are affordable to residents earning eighty percent or less of the Boulder County [area median income] AMI at approximately ten percent of the total housing stock within the Town limits, with a majority of affordable units meeting the needs of residents earning sixty percent or less of the Boulder County AMI, with an emphasis on permanently affordable units.”

Section 2 lists possible policy measures that future trustees can consider, including (1) zoning changes that allow for denser development where it otherwise would not be permitted; (2) annexation conditions that favor affordable housing; (3) conditions on further market-rate, single family home construction; (4) deed restrictions, covenant controls and land leases; and (5) use of Lyons Urban Renewal Authority funds for projects combining commercial and residential development and placing as instruments of affordable housing.

The resolution also states that the Board of Trustees authorizes Town staff to examine opportunities and propose means for adopting and implementing affordable housing measures, subject to the advice of the Town Attorney, and to seek grants or other appropriate means to assist in the efforts. Special Housing Committee chair Justin Spencer asked the trustees if they would consider added language to enable funding a full-time staff position assigned to affordable housing. The trustees changed the language to “seek grants or other appropriate means” to allow for that path to assist in creating affordable housing.

The resolution was drafted by Trustee, now Mayor, Connie Sulivan and Trustee Greenberg, and based on input and research from the Special Housing Committee, Lyons Housing Recovery Coordinator Cody Humphrey, and town attorney Kathie Guckenberger. The trustees thanked Humphrey, who is leaving his position a half a year before his contract end to take another job, and the volunteer members of the Special Housing Committee, which ended this month with the trustees term.

Earlier on April 18, the outgoing Board of Trustees attended a workshop with updates about the master plan process for the Eastern Corridor Primary Planning Area. The purpose of the Lyons Primary Planning Area Master Plan is to understand conditions that will influence investment, as well as to identify and illustrate the type and location of desired public and private improvements within its boundaries. The Lyons Primary Planning Area is made up parcels along the fringe but outside of the current town boundaries, in Boulder County.

Before properties in the Primary Planning Area can be considered for incorporation/annexation into the Town of Lyons, elected and appointed town officials need to be provided with details about feasible and desired uses for land in the area, in accordance with the Town of Lyons 2010 Comprehensive Plan, the Lyons-Boulder County Intergovernmental Agreement, the Lyons Recovery Action Plan, and Lyons Municipal Code.

The Eastern Corridor is the first portion of the Primary Planning Area that consultants from Ricker|Cunningham, a practice of Real Estate Economists, and planners and engineers from Kimley-Horn are completing for the town. Matt Manley, Lyons Flood Recovery Planner, is coordinating the master plan for the Lyons Primary Planning Area.

Consultants from Ricker|Cunningham presented the trustees with the following recommendations and findings so far about the Eastern Corridor, based on input from residents and business owners inside and outside town, and two workshops:

The existing Intergovernmental Agreement with Boulder County and physical conditions limit how much development can be accommodated and where.

Available parcels for commercial retail development are limited to and within the Eastern Corridor. The retail market potential is primarily within the destination and entertainment segments.

Opportunities for affordable housing include a range of housing product types.

Existing Town regulations and standards (if applied) will maintain the area’s current character.

Build-out of undeveloped parcels only within current town boundaries will result in a budgetary deficit. Based on 72 acres within the town limits and densities for their current zoning, the balance of revenue generation from residential and non-residential would be projected to be $119,228, but total service costs to the town would be projected to be $172,075 per year, resulting in a deficit of $52,846 or 31% per year. See the State of the Town slide available in the presentation at www.townoflyons.com/441/Lyons-Primary-Planning-Area.

The required vote for annexation of five acres or more should be revisited in light of desired outcomes.

The Intergovernmental Agreement with Boulder County should be amended to reflect findings of the Primary Planning Area Master Plan.

Future annexations to Lyons may benefit from retroactive inclusion in the urban renewal area.

Even though you can read my columns, I encourage you to attend upcoming meetings related to affordable housing options to understand it for yourself: A final workshop about the Eastern Corridor Primary Planing Area is Thursday, April 28 from 5:30-7 p.m. at Rogers Hall. If you can’t go, at least give your input here: www.townoflyons.com/441/Lyons-Primary-Planning-Area. Also, a future meeting of the new Board of Trustees (typically first and third Mondays of each month, 7 p.m. at Town Hall) might include an agenda item for a restructured application for subdivision and PUD zoning for 2nd and Park, where 6 Habitat for Humanity Homes were proposed. All town meetings are open to the public and posted on the calendar at www.townoflyons.com/calendar.aspx.

I intend to continue writing columns in both Lyons papers about any accomplishments to increase affordable housing stock in Lyons. For background and history, you can read previous columns at https://lyonscoloradonews.wordpress.com. If you have any questions, comments, or complaints about this column, please contact me directly at areinholds @hotmail.com.

Amy Reinholds served on the Lyons Housing Recovery Task Force from December 2013 through its end in February 2015. She is currently a member of the Lyons Human Services and Aging Commission and served as a liaison to the Special Housing Committee in the past year. She has lived in Lyons since 2003 and in the surrounding Lyons area since 1995.

Editor/Author of this blog

Amy Reinholds served on the Housing Recovery Task Force in Lyons, Colo., from December 2013 through its end in February 2015. She is currently a volunteer member of the Lyons Housing & Human Services Commission. She has lived in Lyons since 2003 and in the surrounding Lyons area since 1995.